Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Thank you TD Ameritrade! Recently TD Ameritrade announced the launch of their new software to assist active traders in finding intra day opportunities. Much of their literature promotes the same catch phrases we've long used. Terms like: Idea Generation Technology (IGT) and managed risk. TD Ameritrade spends a large marketing budget to explain these terms. Their wider use in the industry jargon will benefit Trade-Ideas when the eventual comparisons are made.

TD Ameritrade's new tool is called the "Market Motion Detector" and its main objective is to help spot stocks that are moving up and down 'fast' or % per minute. We evaluated the product in detail and the marketing literature, we conclude that TD Ameritrade fell way short of what active traders need.

Here is a brief overview:

Their software is not in real-time, it refreshes every 30 seconds. Anyone who trades actively knows that 30 second delays are unacceptable. In addition market movements are not uniform. What happens if a stock with big potential makes the move right after the 30 second query just ran? Would you wait another 30 seconds before you see it? Anyone who trades actively knows what a stock like GOOG can do in 30 seconds...

The filters are insufficient to give an active trader enough flexibility to really work with the software.

The tool only displays five stocks at a time. That user interface (UI) constraint will keep active traders away from the offering. There is much more going on than 5 stocks no matter how you slice and dice it. They use a metaphor of night goggles to describe seeing things previously invisible, but the UI limitation makes it seem like they have not taken the lens cap off the night goggles.

The graphs next to the windows are hard to read and seem superfluous. They just take up space without really serving any purpose other than showing you the speeding up number graphically. We challenge their usefulness.

Finally a good word: One nice feature is the ability to click on a symbol and generate a trade ticket which can be quickly turned into an order to buy or sell. If utilized that could help the trader get to the stock more quickly which we believe is valuable.

We are glad that TD Ameritrade is spending the money to promote the benefits of Idea Generation. They are building awareness and that helps traders understand the need for this type of technology and we all for the attention they bring to this capability. We only wonder who do they see as this tool's typical user?

There are alternatives. Active Scottrade customers already know that they are eligible to receive our software at no cost thanks to Scottrade's agreement with Trade-Ideas. Trade-Ideas appears as a window within the Scottrade Elite Direct Access Platform: http://www.scottradeelite.com/

Monday, May 29, 2006

We keep alot of our Idea Generation Technology (IGT) free for the community of interested chartists, traders, and technicians. Doing so keeps people aware of our technology and the value we bring to decisions about what to trade and when to trade it.

For example here is a list of all of our Alerts. Click on the alert link to see the current list of stocks activating this alert.Single Alert Type

Another example is the research available on individual stocks. A free technical analysis report of trends appears here:Stock Information

We even give away a free version of the real-time product. Although it only considers two of our alerts (the Daily High and Low Alerts), you can use any of our filters to really define the pattern these stocks should be in before an alert occurs. Click on Configure and goto the Filter section to start adjusting the settings.FREE High Low Ticker

There is also a growing list of people who distribute our information to enhance their own content. (they use the links above and/or real-time banners found here or here) We'll keep adding to this list as we run across such sites.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Some signs Tuesday morning pointed to upside in the futures. Could this be an indication of a bottom or is there room further to fall? How does a trader plan strategy during uncertainty?

Good question. One effective tool for strategy development in corporate boardrooms (large or small) is the use of scenarios. Scenarios don't have to be completely accurate in predicting probable outcomes and the strategic response to be 100% useful. The value of scenarios lies in the process of "signposting" the future with indicators that inform you when a particular version of the future is 'now'. Signposting also allows you to be aware of how the unfolding present measurably differs from what was predicted. In other words it's better to know what path you're on or that you are off the path by 'x' number of paces then to be oblivious that there's even a path to follow.

If Bulls were to place signposts among the flood of data available out there that pointed to a bounce or rebound, here are some of the indicators at Trade-Ideas they will use:

Note: Some of the following data is freely accessible and some requires a Trade-Ideas subscription.

20-Day Losers by %: This list shows which stocks have moved down the most over the last 20 trading days. Because this list is organized by % change, it shows the best opportunities to make a profit with a fixed amount of buying power.

Crossed Above [Below] 200 Day Moving Average Breakout is a preconfigured alert window specifically set up to find stocks that have just gone above [below] their 200 day moving average. If this sounds familiar it's because these were part of our previous Sample strategies that we rotated off the site recently.

How It's Modeled:This window features one main alert the "Crossed Above 200 Day Moving Average" alert. It is triggered when a stock crosses its 200 day moving average and that move is confirmed by volume. This window comes with some preset filters. We included a Min Position in Range filter set at the 60th percentile so that the breakout happens in the upper 40% of a stock's daily trading range. Also there is a Min Up from the Close filter set to $0.10 so that the stock is at least positive when the breakout occurs. The settings for Crossed Below 200 Day Moving Average are the exact opposite.

Remember that these set-ups are sketches meant to give you an idea how to model your own trading plan. Use this 'as is' or modify it to your own liking as many others do. Know, however, that Trade-Ideas.com and all individuals affiliated with this site assume no responsibilities for your trading and investment results. The indicators, alerts and all other features are for research purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice.

June Seminar Footnote - To gain a full understanding of how this strategy and others can help you in your trading plan, we suggest you attend our training seminar in June. There we will focus on all the advanced aspects of our software needed to give you an edge against larger, more capitalized participants. We just opened the sign up page so that you can officially pay for and reserve your spot (conference limited to 100 existing subscribers). http://www.trade-ideas.com/Seminar/

Friday, May 19, 2006

Time is quickly passing as we make final preparations for the 1st Annual Learning Curve Seminar (LCS). Only a few weeks are left to register for a special event that promises the chance to improve your trading performance, shape the development of a leading edge tool, and network like crazy to meet new, interesting contacts.

The 1st Annual Learning Curve Seminar includes:

Expert panels

Two days of networking

Practical advisory sessions

Traders who share what works best in Trade-Ideas

Trading techniques using Trade-Ideas that level the playing field against specialists, institutions, more capitalized traders

Steps on how to model strategies from articles, speakers, and inspiration and separate the what's good from the snake oil

Ms. Bussie is currently a portfolio manager for alternative investments and a hedge fund advisor for Western Pacific Capital Management in Del Mar, CA. The bulk of her career thus far has been spent in the commodity markets in Chicago where she was a member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade. She was an analyst with A.G. Edwards for many years, covering the precious and industrial metals, energy and agricultural markets. She is a Chartered Market Technician (CMT) and currently on the board of directors of the Market Technicians Association (MTA) as well as the chair of the San Diego chapter. Ms. Bussie is also a member of the American Association of Professional Technical Analysts.

Julia will provide plenty of context to frame our strategy and modeling discussions as she gives her perspective on the markets. She will be speaking at the conclusion of our first day and joining us for cocktails afterwards.

The 411:The latest updates on any changes will be here firstAgenda details and the event schedule are hereRegistration information for the seminar is here

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

We mentioned in a previous post our goal to reward readers of this blog with special invitations and announcements ahead of our other subscribers. We therefore present to you the opportunity to beta-test the next release of Trade-Ideas Pro, Version 1.9.

It is our intention to show our gratitude for your support and use of Trade-Ideas.

Here is the link to get started: LINK REMOVED, See Update

Notes:

This beta version is in its final form before the general release – no flaws appear in our own testing. Should you find anything unusual, please let us know.

Non-subscribers can sign in using the username 'DEMO' and 'DEMO' as the password (case sensitive). Those in demo mode will have limited access, i.e. you'll see only a few of the symbols within the alerts.

Release date: Week of 5/29

This version has more options for sounds including custom sounds that you can make yourself. Put that music library to work! For instance, maximize screen space by assigning different sounds to different strategies (that generate few alerts for example), then minimize the window until the sound is triggered (See Figure 1 and Figure 2)

Version 1.9 also has the option for multiple generic connectors allowing you to link one alert window to one application/window while linking another to a completely different application or window (See Figure 3)

There is improved stability with our internal 'plumbing' and the ability to access your account information from TI Pro. This integrates the useful advanced features previously available only from the website (See Figure 4)

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Monday's market recap by TraderMike highlights a source of free information at Trade-Ideas you will want to include in your tool arsenal. Here's what was reported:

Important levels on the S&P and Nasdaq were successfully tested. There were also a ton of my favorite bullish candlestick patterns made today. According to StockCharts.com there were 194 hammers and 188 bullish engulfing patterns made today.

The link above takes you to a list generated by StockCharts.com which is a great site for charts and useful information.

It can be augmented by the data Trade-Ideas provides in real-time via our free Stock Scans:

Look at these scans throughout the day to get up to the second results. If you want to further refine these scans with filtering capabilities, you'll need a subscription. Otherwise it is yours for the taking.

Explore the other alert scans as well including 5, 10, and 15 minute timeframes for these alerts.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

UPDATE: Make sure to read the first comment on this post containing perfect examples of what this strategy finds from the next day's (5/11)market activity.

An insightful new article by Dr. Brett Steenbarger inspired this latest edition of Strategy Session. He asks the question, "What happens after we get a rest day after market strength?" Brett applies his valuable expertise in culling the history of the SPY to come up with valid, statistically proven patterns to use a trading guidelines. Read the article in detail if you are interested (see Footnotes). Here is his conclusion:

It thus appears that a narrow day after a market rise is not a pause that refreshes, but rather may indicate an exhaustion of the rally. Incredibly, 10 of the last 11 times this pattern has occurred (since 2/05), the market (SPY) has been down ... the next day ... [and] three days later.

The Strategy: Exhaustion of the RallyWe will test Brett's finding against other stocks - specifically stocks with a lot of liquidity (i.e., highly traded) and higher in price (than not) as a proxy for the SPY. This is a strategy for shorting stocks. We are looking for stocks with a narrow range after a market rise. To mitigate some risk we'll look for stocks opening downward and consider as triggers stocks that show a small pullback from the lows as good entry points - in this case, the pause that does not refresh.

Who Could Benefit:Note: This strategy does not produce many alerts (~5 to 15 on the days we tried). Traders with patience will appreciate this strategy as a good contrarian spotter (i.e., an opportunity to short). Swing traders and intraday traders will also see opportunities in line with their holding preferences.

This strategy is not recommended during a strong bull market session. It works best when the market is sideways or weak.

Note: If these stocks take a real dive as a result of showing up on this strategy, you could consider using a previous strategy called, "Oversold, Phoenix" to catch any bargains as they roar back.

Remember that these set-ups are sketches meant to give you an idea how to model your own trading plan. Use this 'as is' or modify it to your own liking as many others do. Know, however, that Trade-Ideas.com and all individuals affiliated with this site assume no responsibilities for your trading and investment results. The indicators, alerts and all other features are for research purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice.

June Seminar Footnote - To gain a full understanding of how this strategy and others can help you in your trading plan, we suggest you attend our training seminar in June. There we will focus on all the advanced aspects of our software needed to give you an edge against larger, more capitalized participants. We just opened the sign up page so that you can officially pay for and reserve your spot (conference limited to 100 existing subscribers). http://www.trade-ideas.com/Seminar/

Monday, May 08, 2006

Want to be a beta-tester? Here's an insider's tip on what's coming to Trade-Ideas. As a reader of this blog (and hopefully a subscriber) we value your effort to learn more about Trade-Ideas. We plan to provide additional benefits to make your experience with Trade-Ideas even better.

Let's finish by mentioning several improvements that are on their way over the next few weeks:

What's HereHopefully you are exploring the new set-ups we created for Trade-Ideas subscribers to evaluate and use as starting points for their own modification. These are found by right-clicking in an alert window of Trade-Ideas and selecting "Samples". You can also see a list of them online here: http://www.trade-ideas.com/GettingStarted.html

What's Next

Standard and customizable sounds for Trade-Ideas PRO. If you have an infrequent alerting strategy in Trade-Ideas, assign your own sound to the alerts and minimize the window. The browser version has long had this option.

Filters that employ fundamental analysis. You will begin to filter the universe on such popular fundamentals as PE ratios, Book value, Sales growth, etc.

Some recent suggestions we received include adding a Block Symbol list capability and adding more information and filtering to our Trading Above/Below the Specialist alerts (i.e., how far above/below, filtering for primary exchange). If you have any thoughts on these suggestions or want to make your own, please leave us a comment.

Footnote:

No matter which platform you use (e.g., browser, TI Pro), you can already access the new items - new alert and filter innovations like these are automatic to subscribers because both applications make a "call" to our servers for the latest list whenever someone interacts with our alert window settings via 'Configure'. When we add them, you receive them instantly.

Users of Trade-Ideas Pro are encouraged to download the latest version of the application. This is unrelated to the new alerts or filters. Instead a download of the latest version of the application is necessary to benefit from other aspects of the service, like minor visual enhancements and background "plumbing" maintenance that keeps the service as fast as possible.

Friday, May 05, 2006

"They say there are two sides to everything. But there is only one side to thestock market; and it is not the bull side or the bear side, but the right side."

Jesse Livermore

52 week highs and lows are very important inflection points that can reveal where the right side will be. Sometimes traders are able to find jewels in set ups that are not exactly at the high or the low of the year - but close. In recent talks with some of our high end users in New York we modeled two new strategies that deal with movements around the 52 week highs and lows. We share modified versions of them with you.

The first strategy finds stocks that are breaking down after recently making 52 week highs. For momentum players this may be a candidate for a short sell, for swing traders this may flag buying opportunity in hopes that the stock will return and test the 52 week high point.

The inverse of this strategy looks for stocks making a move after hitting recent 52 week lows. This may be an opportunity to catch a near term low and see if there is momentum behind a possible rally - in other words - a good entry point.

Remember that these set-ups are sketches meant to give you an idea how to model your own trading plan. Use this 'as is' or modify it to your own liking as many others do. Know, however, that Trade-Ideas.com and all individuals affiliated with this site assume no responsibilities for your trading and investment results. The indicators, alerts and all other features are for research purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice.

June Seminar Footnote - To gain a full understanding of how this strategy and others can help you in your trading plan, we suggest you attend our training seminar in June. There we will focus on all the advanced aspects of our software needed to give you an edge against larger, more capitalized participants. We just opened the sign up page so that you can officially pay for and reserve your spot (conference limited to 100 existing subscribers). http://www.trade-ideas.com/Seminar/